Automatic feeder



March 19, 1929. F, N, WHWESELL 1,705,885

. AUTOMATI C FEEDER Filed May 51. 1921 s Sheets-Sheet 1 March 19, 1929. F w T s I 1,705,885

AUTOMATIC FEEDER I Filed May 31. 1921 s Sheets-Sheet 2 fnvenl rs N VWzzZseZZ,

F. N. WHITESELL March 19, 1929.

' AUTOMATIC FEEDER Filed May 31. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet Irwenfor:

Zredanzdf M W/az'lsgZZ Patented Mar. 19, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK N. WHITESELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO FAIRBANKS, MORSE & (10., O1 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

8 AUTOMATIC FEEDER.

Application filed Kay 31,

Where materials, such as coal and sand of widely different specific gravities have to be elevated or otherwise transported at different times by the same mechanism, serious difliculties arise in the operation of such mechanism unless the loads to be lifted are made of uniform weight regardless of the actual ma terial being lifted. The object of this invention is to provide a feeding or measuring device for selectively varying the quantity of material delivered to the lifting apparatus in accordance with the specific gravities of such material whereby each operation of the liftingfmechanism carries a predetermined desired weight of material, regardless of the character of the material carried.

The invention consists in means for attain ing the foregoing objects and also in many special details of construction entering into the machine for delivering a measured quantity of material to a hoisting'appa-ratus.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals designate the same parts thruout the several views,

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of mechanism illustrating this invention in its preferred form.

Figure 2 is a face view taken on approximately the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged changed position view of the measuring apparatus of Figure 1.

In the preferred form of the invention Shown in Figure 1, material 10 to be handled, such as coal, sand, crushed stone, or any other materials to be hoisted is suitably delivered into a V-shaped hopper 12 terminating in a delivery opening 14 below which is an angularly placed plate 16 entering a measuring chamber 18 of box like construction. This chamber has a downwardly inclined bottom 22 surrounded by upwardly extending walls 24 and 25, enclosing a door 26. The chamber has a discharge port 28, directed towards the hoist-ing bucket 30 shown in Figure 1 as resting upon a suitable support 32 in the pit 34 provided for it. From v this position the bucket is adapted to be moved vertically upward in the line of lifting rope 36 by mechanism above Figure 1, not entering into this invention, and therefore not shown in detail.

The passage of material 10 from the hopper 12 along the plate 16 is, when the parts are in position of Figure 1, prevented by the presence of a semi-circular door38 suspended 1921. Serial No. 473,705. I

on arms 40 from trunnions'42 carried by vertical side walls 44 extending upwardly from plate 16. Rigid with the arm 40 and carried on the trunnions 42 are wheels 46 to which are attached chains 48, which in turn pass over pinions 50 on a shaft 52, which in turn carries pulleys 54 over which parallel ropes 56 pass. vEach rope 56 is attached to the adjacent pulley 54 at one point in its circumference and passes several times around the pulley, as clearly shown in Figure 2. Whenthe parts recentlydescribed are in the positions shown in Figure 1, door 38 retains material 10 in the hopper and on the incline plate 16 above the door, but when the rope 56 is so manipulated as to move the parts just described to the position of Figure 3, material 10 can freely flow from the hopper down into the chamber 18. Reversing the direction of the motion of the rope 56 causes the door 38 to move back from the\position of Figure 3, thru the' material passing from the hopper 12, to the position of Figure 1, all as fully set forthin my prior U. S. Patent Number 1,366,334.

One end of each of the parallel ropes 56 passes over one of two parallel pulleys 60 and is attached to a cross bar 62 adapted to be engaged by bucket 30 in the position of Figure 1 to retain the door 38 in the position of that figure when the bucket is in the lowered or loading position of Figure 1. The opposite ends of the two parallel ropes 56pass over parallel pulleys 64 and are connected to a similar cross bar 66 adapted to be engaged by a counterweight 68 for the bucket 30 carried by the end 36 of the rope 36, which is beyond the hoisting drawn mechanism heretofore referred to. When the bucket 30 is elevated from the position of Figure 1 with consequent descent of counterweight 68 in obvious manner well known in the art, said weight 68 moves the cross bar 66 downward to position 66, shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, thus moving the door 38 to the position of Figure 3. In this movement the cross bar 62 moves to the dotted line position 62, (Figure 1), so that the movement of the bucket 30 and its correlated counterweight 68 automatically scending to the position of Figure 1 and receiving a load from that hopper when it reaches the position of Figure 1.

The discharge port of chamber 18 is closed by a door 7 O hinged at 72. Rising from'opposite ends of the door are flanges 74, which prevent side flow of material 10 off from the door 70 as the material moves from the hopper 18 to the bucket 30. Door 70, with attached parts, is adapted to beheld in a closed posit-ion of Figure 3 through the agency of a side link 76 pivoted to the side flanges 74 at 78 and extending in elbow form past a shaft 80 on the bottom plate 22 of the hopper 18 to make a pivotal connectionat 82 with a crank arm 84 pivoted on said shaft. The parts just described are so shaped that with the parts in the position of Figure 3, shaft 80 -is above a line drawn thru pivots 78 and 82 with the result that in the absence of exterior interference, the parts are automatically locked so that the door will not open under the pressure of material in chamber 18.

It is to be noticed that with the parts in this position, the door 0 clears the edge of the chamber 18 by a slight space, thus preventing banging when the door is closed.

In order to automatically open the door 7 0 by properly manipulating the levers 76-84, a bell crank 88 is provided pivoted on shaft 80, said bell crank having on its end a member 90 adapted to engage the levers 84 to forcibly move them upward until the line between pivots 78 and 82 passes pivot 80, whereupon the load in hopper 18 presses on the door 70 to throw it open to the position of Figure 1 and allow the load to pass out of port 28 along the door into the bucket 30. This bell crank 90 is actuated by a lever mechanism 9294 so pivoted on a. stationary support at 96 that the end 98 of lever 94 extends into the path of travel of the tripping .member 100 carried at a proper point on some part moving in unison with the bucket 30 and the rope 36, in the particular case here illustrated, on the bale 102 of the bucket. In the preferred form of construction, a guide 104 is provided for the bucket 30 so that as the bucket moves up and down the tripping dog 100 will be sure to strike the lever 98, and open the door 70 just as the bucket reaches its lowest er loading position as shown in Figure 1.

In the operation of the parts thus far described, the descent of the bucket 30 to its loading position of Figure 1, automatically opens the door 7 0 to permit whatever mate-- rial 10 is in chamber 18 to pass to the bucket and it simultaneously closes the door 38 to prevent the passage of any material from hopper 12 into the chamber 18 or into the bucket while the bucket is in this position. When the operator manipulates the power mechanism, referred to, but not shown to ele vate bucket 30, a roller 1-06 on the edge of the bucket 30 engages the under side of door 70 and as the bucket ascends, raises the door to a position where it is nearly closed after which the weight of the lever mechanism, which is then to the left of pivot 80, carries the door over to closed position.

The main problem to be solved by this invention is to provide means whereby the hopper 18 may be varied in capacity at the will of the operator so that quantities of material of uniform weight may be delivered in the bucket regardless of the specific grm'ity of the material. This is accomplished by providing an adjustable positionable partition, in the particular case illustrated, adoor 26 extending substantially the entire transverse width ofreceptacle 18. In the case illustrated the door is hinged at 110 so that it can swing ed for locking and bracing this door in any angular position, the same in the particular case here illustrated taking the form of a plurality of parallel segmental rods 112, each sliding thru a clamp 114 and detachably lockable by set screws 116 manipulatable by handles 118. By properly turning these handles, one set for each rod 112, the operator can seeurely fasten and brace the door 26 so that its lower end is rigidly positioned as shown in Figure 3 in the path of travel of descending-material 10, to thus accurately determine within proper limits the amount of material which will flow from the hopper 12 into the chamber 18.

Door 26 is elevatable from the position of I Figure 3 to normal position of Figure 1 by any suitable means. In' the particular case here illustrated a hand power hoisting mechanism is provided including hoisting ropes 120 passing over a shaft or drum 122 manually manipulatable by rotating a hand wheel 124 and selectively lockable indifferent positions by a temporary braking or holding device such for instance as ratchet Wheel 126 and ratchet lever 128 in' obvious manner.

The position of the free swinging edge of door 26 in chamber 18 directly limits the cross sectional area of the opening between such edge and the walls of the chamber, through which opening the material 10 passes but the effective result of this is to define the effective capacity of the chamber 18, preparatory to opening door 7 O. 1

In the complete operation of the device the operator more or less by experiment determines the proper adjustment of the door 26 so that the proper amount of material 10 will at each operation of the machine flow from hopper 12 into chamber 18 and thence into the bucket 30, to be easily and conveniently mined, the handles 118 are manipulated to lock the door in that position, and the machine goes on automatically deliver ng such predetermined quantity of material into bucket 30 at each cycle of movement ot the bucket. I

One important feature is that after the bottom of bucket 30- gets above positlon 62 oflbar 62 and until it gets so high that counterweight 68 engages bar 66:, it can be stopped, started, or reversed 1n movement without afl'ecting the material chamber control. This is important should any accident occur to the hoisting apparatus.

Having thus described my lHVOIlt-IOII what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a mechanism of the class described, a hopper, a measuring chamber communicating therewith and having an mchned floor over which the material rolls or slides during its entire passage through the measuring chamber, said chamber having top and bottom material ports, a door at the bottom port, means for controlling the upper port, and means intermediate of the ends of said chamber and out of the direct path of the material adjustably projectable across the path of the material through the said chamber, for varying the effective capacity of the measuring chamber; the floors of the hopper, the measuring chamber and the lower port door being inclined substantially at the same angle;

2. In a mechanism of the class described, a hopper, a measuring chamber connected with said hopper and having an inclined floor with top and bottom material ports, a door at the bottom port, means for controlling the upper port and means out of the direct path of the material and intermediate of the ends of the chamber adj ustably tiltable across the path of the material thru the said chamber for varying the eifeetive capacity of the measuring chamber; the floors of the hopper, the measuring chamber and the lower port-door being inclined substantially at the same angle.

3. In a mechanism of the class described, a hopper, a measuring chamber connected to said hopper and having an inclined floor, with top and bottom material ports, a door at the bottom port, means for controlling the upper port, means out of the direct path of the material and intermediate of the ends of the chamber for varying the effective capacity of the measuring chamber, and means operable from outside the said chamber for bracing the last mentioned means against material passing thru the measuring chamber; the floors of the hopper, the measuring chamber and the lower port-door being inclined substantially at the same angle.

4. In a mechanism of the class described,

a hopper, a measuring chamber connected to said hopper having an inclined floor, with top and bottom material ports, a door at the bottom port, means for controlling the upper port, means out of the direct path of the material and intermediate of the ends of the said chamber-for varying the effective capacity of the measuring chamber; the floors of. the hopper, the measuring chamber and the lower port-door being inclined substantially at the same angle.

5. In a mechanism of the class described, a hopper, a measuring chamber connected to said hopper and having an inclined floor, with top and bottom material ports, a door at the bottom port, means for controlling the upper port, means intermediate of the ends of the chamber and substantially above the same, adjustably projectable across the path of the material thru the chamber for varying tlleet'fective capacity of said measuring chamber; the floors of the hopper, the measuring chamber and the lower-port door being inclined at substantially the same angle.

6. In a mechanism of the class described, a hopper, a measuring chamber connected with said hopper and having an inclined floor with top and bottom material ports, a door at the bottom port, means for controlling the upper port, means intermediate of the ends of the chamber and substantially above the same, adj ustably projectable on a pivot across the path of the material thru the chamber for varying the effective capacity of said measuring chamber, the floors of the hopper, the measuring chamber and the lower port-door being inclined at substantially the same angle. 7. In mechanism of the class described, a hopper, a material containing chamber connected with said hopper and having an inclined floor, said chamber being open near its bottom, means for closing said opening, a. door at the side of the chamber angularly adjustable with reference to the interior of said chamber for determining the effective capacity of said chamber; the floors of the hopper, the material containing chamber and the lower port door being inclined at substantially the same angle.

8. A material retaining chamber combined with a hopper and having an inclined floor over which the material is passed with an opening in its upper portion and an opening in its lower portion thru which openings the said material passes and a hinged partition extending across the chamber to limit theeffective capacity of said chamber, the floors of the hopper and saidchamber being inclined at substantially the same angle.

9. A hopper combined with an inclined retaining chamber having an opening in its upper portion and an opening in its lower portion, a hinged partition extending across the chamber to'limit the area of the passage thru it and manually operated means for moving said partition to different angular positions with reference to the chamber.

10. A hopper and a material retaining chamber connected with each other, said chamber having an opening in its upper portion and an opening in its lower portion, a hinged partition extending across the chamber to limit the area of the passage thru it, manually operated means for bringing said partition to different angular positions with reference to said chamber and brace members selectively lockable to firmly brace the free swinging end of said partition in the interior of said chamber.

11. In mechanism of the class described, an inclined chamber having an inclined floor over which the material rolls or slides during its entire passage through said chamber, a partition pivoted at the upper portion of said chamber adapted to swing down into the chamber, rods carried by the swinging end of the partition extending outside of the chamher, and means operatable outside of the chamber for gripping and locking said rods in selected position for the purposes set forth.

12. In mechanism of the class described, a material retaining chamber having an inclined floor over which the material rolls or slides during its entire passage through said chamber, said chamber having entrance and exit ports oppositely disposed, a partition hinged adjacent to one wall of the chamber, extending into the chamber across the path of travel of material thru it. means bracing the swinging ends of the partition into the chamber, and power means for lifting said swinging free end of the partition from the chamber, for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

FREDERICK N. IVHITESELL. 

